Behold the Bushwick of the Future

In the latest news on the “development-of-Brooklyn-aka-destruction-of-Brooklyn-as-we-know-it,-which-is-wildly-different-from-how-people-in-Brooklyn-50-years-ago-knew-it” front, it seems that Bushwick is in line for an ambitious rezoning plan that will drastically change the feel of the neighborhood. Meredith Hoffman, of DNAInfo reports on a new proposal by developers Reed Property Group LLC, which will include “sleek high rises, 977 apartments, two added streets, open space, retail and rezoning of several blocks would transform an industrial area into a mini-neighborhood.” Pretty wild, right?

While this particular conversation on development is still in its early stages, it’s notable for what it actually intends to do and how comprehensively it would transform the part of Bushwick that it would be in, which is right near Woodhull Hospital and the Flushing Avenue J station. The development (which, Hoffman notes, one Bushwick resident begged will look like “it belongs in Bushwick, not Indianapolis”) will include “more than 17,000 square feet of public open space” and “70 and 80-foot-tall apartment towers with ground floor retail and garages.” The developers promise that much of that residences will be “affordable housing” and that “studios would cost $830 to $900; one bedrooms $890 to $967; two bedrooms $1,085 to $1,160; and three bedrooms $1,246 to $1,340.”

Despite those assurances, and because Bushwick residents are no fools, people are still skeptical and are voicing concerns that include ones about parking and pollution and, as mentioned before, ugly architecture, which, if you look at the proposed building below, is a totally valid concern. Nothing has been officially decided yet, this plan still needs to be “approved by the city after Brooklyn’s Community Board 4 and the Brooklyn Borough President’s office make recommendations” and Community Board 4 has delayed its vote, but it seems almost inevitable that Bushwick will be taking the same development path that Williamsburg did after its rezoning less than a decade ago. And while it’s debatable whether or not Williamsburg has been “ruined,” it’s impossible to deny that it was drastically changed, and that the Rheingold Rezoning, as it’s being called, could very well be the face of Bushwick in the future.